How well do you know the Proms?

Question Results

Which British conductor died just two weeks after making his valedictory appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1967?

Response:

Sir Malcolm Sargent

Sir Thomas Beecham

Feedback:

It was Malcolm Sargent. Sargent was chief conductor of the Proms from 1948 until his death.

Sir Adrian Boult

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Question:

Which piece – performed at the 2009 Last Night – is scored for three vacuum cleaners, one floor polisher and three rifles?

Response:

John Cage's 'Fifteen Domestic Minutes'

Feedback:

It was Sir Malcolm Arnold's 'A Grand Grand Overture'. Sir David Attenborough performed the part of the floor poliser while Rory Bremner played the rifle along with pianist Stephen Hough and broadcaster Martha Kearney. Violinist Jennifer Pike and DJ Goldie played the vacuum cleaner.

Sir Malcolm Arnold's 'A Grand, Grand Overture'

Pierre Schaffer's 'Etude aux objets'

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Question:

A massed orchestra of what instrument played arrangements of Jerusalem, Wagner’s ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ and ‘Anarchy in the UK’ at the 2009 Proms?

Response:

Banjos

Kazoos

Ukuleles

Feedback:

Correct! The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performed a programme of Last Night favourites as they'd never been heard before.

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Question:

In 1995 a Last Night work by Harrison Birtwistle provoked a flood of angry calls to the BBC. Name the work.

Response:

Panic

Earth Dances

The Axe Manual

Feedback:

It was Panic. The work was the first piece of contemporary music ever to be performed at the Last Night of the Proms. The Daily Mail and Daily Express labelled it 'a horrible cacophony' and 'unmitigated rubbish'.

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Question:

To which building did the Proms briefly relocate during World War II?

Response:

The National Gallery

Bedford Corn Exchange

Sheffield City Hall

Feedback:

It was Bedford Corn Exchange. The home of the Proms – the Queen's Hall in London – was destroyed by bombs in 1941. The festival moved to the Royal Albert Hall until that became too dangerous and in 1944 the Proms went to Bedford for the season.

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Question:

Who, scheduled to conduct the Last Night in 1990, was replaced at short notice after he made public concerns about the suitability of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ for the occasion?

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